Some 1,300 Protest Treason Probe Against Bloggers in Berlin

BERLIN (Sputnik) — Some 1,300 people participated in a rally on Saturday in Berlin in support of bloggers investigated over the leaking of security documents, a police spokesman said.

Earlier this week, German political blog netzpolitik.org was notified by federal prosecutors that it was under investigation. The blog’s editor-in-chief, Markus Beckedahl, reportedly faced charges of treason after he uploaded confidential government papers on to the Internet earlier this year, revealing how the German government had sought additional financing to expand the surveillance of online social media.

"According to police estimates, the rally was attended by about 1,300 people. The demonstrators marched through the Friedrichstrasse to the Ministry of Justice. The application for organizing the rally was filed with 400 participants in mind," the spokesman said as quoted by Deutsche Welle.

The demonstrators carried banners that read ‘RIP democracy’, ‘Treason is in violating civil rights,’ ‘Fight for online rights.’

The investigation is currently on pause while the officials wait for an expert analysis of the leaked security documents to determine whether the blog exposed any state secrets.

Earlier in the week, German Justice Minister Heiko Maas welcomed the pause in the criminal probe, saying it was unlikely that the blog had revealed any sensitive information.